Showing posts with label Romanesque Art. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Romanesque Art. Show all posts

Saturday, February 25, 2017

Pórtico da Gloria - Mateo


We just learned about the Tympanum at Vézelay Abbey by Gislebertus.

Another Romanesque sculpture is the Pórtico da Gloria in Spain, made by sculptor Master Mateo in 1188 AD.

This is a large archway with three sculpted columns and a tympanum above the arch.
There are over 200 sculptures in this archway, showing Christ with his apostles and prophets, and also showing stories from the Old and New Testament.


(from: wikipedia - portico of glory)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Ram in a Thicket

Saturday, February 18, 2017

Tympanum at Vézelay Abbey - Gislebertus


We just learned about the sculpture of the Prophet Jeremiah at Mosaic Abbey.

Another Romanesque sculpture is the Tympanum at Vézelay Abbey built in France, 1130 AD.

Just like the Last Judgement Tympanum at the Autun Cathedral in France, this sculpture was made by the sculptor Gislebertus.
It is a tympanum which is a large sculpture over a doorway.

Most of the sculptures like this in churches at that time showed pictures warning of the end of the world, or talked about when Jesus would come back again.

This sculpture is different because it talks about the apostles mission to go off and tell the world about Christianity.


(from: wikipedia - vézelay abbey)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Trundholm Sun Chariot

Saturday, February 11, 2017

Prophet Jeremiah at Mosaic Abbey


We just learned about the Last Judgement Tympanum by Gislebertus.

Another example of Romanesque sculpture is the Prophet Jeremiah at Mosaic Abbey.

This is a sculpture of Jeremiah on a pillar at a monestary in France.
Because this sculpture was part of a pillar holding up the building, the sculptor had to try and make it in a way that it would fit on the small space on the column.
It could not be a large statue of Jeremiah with his hands out, or with large flowing robes, it had to be smaller and squeezed in to fit on the pillar.


(from: wikipedia - mosaic abbey)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Gundestrup Cauldron

Saturday, February 4, 2017

Last Judgement Tympanum - Gislebertus


We just learned about the Lewis Chessmen.

Another famous Romanesque sculpture is the Last Judgement Tympanum at Autun Cathedral in France, made by the sculptor Gislebertus in 1130.

A tympanum is a half circle or triangle shaped sculptured wall over a doorway or window.

This sculpture has Jesus Christ very large in the center, surrounded by the Virgin Mary and the apostles.
The left side shows people trying to get into Heaven, with St. Peter and angels.
The right side shows people being judged in Hell by demons and angels.
There are signs of the zodiac in the arch above the main painting.
Underneath the sculpture in the doorway it says "May this terror terrify those whom earthly error binds for the horror of the images here in this manner truly depicts what will be"

About 600 years after this sculpture was made, some people decided they did not like it.
So they covered it up with plaster, and put another piece of artwork on top of it and everybody forgot that there was even a sculpture there.
Around 70 years later, someone had chipped the plaster and they discovered the sculpture hiding underneath, so they uncovered it and cleaned it up as best they could.

The sculptor's name "Gislebertus" is carved into the side of the sculpture, which was very different for the time it was made, because people used to just make statues for the glory of God, and didn't feel like their name was important.
Gislebertus was one of the first sculptors to leave his name on sculptures, and after him a lot of other people started doing the same thing.


(from: wikipedia - autun cathedral)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Guennol Lioness

Saturday, January 28, 2017

Lewis Chessmen


We just learned about the Cloisters Cross.

Another ancient sculpture is the Lewis Chessmen.

This is a set of 78 chess pieces carved from walrus ivory tusks or whale teeth.
No one is sure exactly how old they are, but they think they were from around 900 years ago in the country of Norway.

There are some red stains on some of the pieces, so they were probably a chess set of red versus white, instead of black versus white.
All of the pieces are little people, even the knights, bishops and rooks.

The knight pieces are on little horses and are holding spears and shields.
The rooks are standing soldiers holding shields and swords.
Some of them have crazy wild eyes and are so angry they are biting their shields!




(from: wikipedia - lewis chessmen)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Swimming Reindeer

Saturday, January 14, 2017

Bernward Doors


We just learned about the Baptismal Font at St. Bartholomew's Church, Liège.

Another Romanesque sculpture is the Bernward Doors made in 1015 for the Hildesheim Cathedral in Germany.

These metal doors were made mostly of copper, and have 16 different pieces, each one made with it's own picture.
Each picture is a relief, meaning the sculpture stands out above the background.
The 8 pictures on the left are from the book of Genesis, telling the story of Adam and Even and Cain and Abel.
The 8 pictures on the right are from the Gospel, telling the story of Jesus from the angels visiting Mary to going up to heaven.


(from: wikipedia - bernward doors)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Metz & Co showroom - van der Leck

Saturday, January 7, 2017

Baptismal Font at St. Bartholomew's Church, Liège


We just learned about the Reliquary of St. Maurus.

Another famous sculpture is the Baptismal Font at St. Bartholomew's Church, Liège made in 1107 in Belgium.

It is made of bronze, and the sculptures are in high relief.
High relief means that the parts of the sculpture stick out very far from the background.

The pictures on this sculpture are of the people that wrote the four gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
These people are sometimes called the Four Evangelists.

This is a baptismal font, which is a tub that gets filled with water for people to get baptized in.
It is still used even today.


(from: wikipedia - baptismal font at st bartholomew's church, liège)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Composition VII - van Doesburg

Saturday, December 31, 2016

Reliquary of St. Maurus


We just learned about the Gloucester Candlestick.

Another ancient sculpture is the Reliquary of St. Maurus.

Just like the Shrine of the Three Kings these are sarcophagi, coffins with people's bones in them.
Inside the silver plated golden covered boxes are the bones of St. Maurus, St. John the Baptist, and St. Timothy.

During World War II, this reliquary was buried underneath a church to protect it from armies that would steal it.

It was buried for around 40 years and forgotten, until someone went looking for it and dug it up.


(from: wikipedia - reliquary of st. maurus)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Composition II - Mondrian

Saturday, December 24, 2016

Gloucester Candlestick


We just learned about the Stavelot Triptych.

Another famous sculpture is the Gloucester Candlestick.

This candlestick is made of bronze, which is a mixture of a bunch of metals like copper, tin and silver.
People believe this candlestick was made up of a bunch of old melted coins.

It has many sculpted little statues on it from the bottom to the top. There are dragons at the bottom, and at the top are the four people who wrote the Bible gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

The candlestick has words written on it in Latin. Translated to English they are:
"This flood of light, this work of virtue, bright with holy doctrine instructs us, so that Man shall not be benighted in vice."

This means that sculpture can remind people to follow the teachings of the Bible and live a good life full of light, and not do bad things and live in the darkness.

There are some sculpted figures on the candlestick that are trying to climb up toward the light, and others that are trying to crawl away from it toward the bottom.






(from: wikipedia - gloucester candlestick)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Revolving Torsion Gabo

Saturday, December 17, 2016

Stavelot Triptych


We just learned about the Shrine of the Three Kings.

Another ancient roman sculpture is the Stavelot Triptych.

We learned before that a triptych is like a sculpted book that opens and closes.
This triptych opens up, and has two smaller triptychs in the middle.

The smaller triptychs are much older, and are said to have held small pieces of the cross that Christ died on, as well as some dirt from Christ's tomb, and a piece of his mother Mary's robe.

The triptychs are made of gold, jewels and glass, and have pictures showing saints, mother Mary, and the story of the Christian Emperor Constantine's mother when she traveled to find the cross that Christ died on.


(from: wikipedia - stavelot triptych)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Dance - Objectless Composition - Rodchenko

Saturday, December 3, 2016

Brunswick Lion


We just learned about the Muiredach's High Cross.

Another famous sculpture is the Brunswick Lion, made in the year 1166 in Brunswick Germany.

The statue was made for the Duke Henry the Lion who lived at Dankwarderode castle.

It weighs almost 2,000 lbs, is almost 6 feet tall and is over 9 feet long.
The statue is a hollow bronze sculpture, and was the first large hollow casting like that in a very long time.

There is an old folk tale about the Duke Henry the Lion, saying that he went on a trip and saw a lion battling a dragon.
He helped the lion and together they killed the dragon.
So the lion became his friend, and came home with him.


(from: wikipedia - brunswick lion)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Beat the Whites with the Red Wedge - Lissitzky